Architect behind the world’s tallest skyscraper to design buildings that can store energy using gravity
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Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), the architecture firm responsible for the world’s tallest building, is exploring methods to construct skyscrapers that can store energy through gravity.
The company has crafted prototype designs utilizing electric motors to raise large blocks, generating potential energy that can later be transformed into electricity as the blocks descend.
These designs incorporate technology pioneered by partner Energy Vault Holdings Inc. as a greener alternative to lithium-ion batteries and other chemical cells.
They are currently seeking developer collaborators keen on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, which the United Nations attributes to nearly 40% of global emissions.
Also read: Investor group calls on policymakers to build a ‘green and competitive UK’
According to Bill Baker, a consulting partner at Chicago-based SOM and the lead designer for the Burj Khalifa, standing at 828 meters in Dubai, envisions substantial opportunities for integrating energy storage into skyscrapers.
SOM has developed four storage system prototypes. Three are independent systems employing either hefty blocks or water, with two integrated into hillsides and a third as a tall, cylindrical tower.
The fourth prototype is designed for urban environments. It visualizes a towering skyscraper that could potentially house residential, retail, and office spaces.
While Energy Vault’s Shanghai project stands about 150 meters (490 feet) tall, SOM’s skyscraper batteries could reach much greater heights, starting from 300 meters.
Energy Vault just finished its first big project near Shanghai, a standalone storage system that can provide 25 megawatts of power for four hours. Other companies are also trying out new gravity storage systems, like using old oil wells and mines.
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